Private tours in Lisbon & surroundings
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Algarve - full day
Personalized booking
Program
We take the motorway towards south, to cross the biggest cork tree region in the world, where 50% of world
production of cork comes from.
Our first stop will be Silves, the most historical castle in Algarve. Standing proudly on a hill, the origin of the
town traces back to existing some 1.000 BC. Already a notable place in Roman times but it really became an
important place during its occupation in the early 11th Century by the Moors. Giving it the name of Xelb,
they constructed lavish palaces and it became the cultural centre. The impressive remains of the castle dates
back to Moors. Under the control of the Portuguese Kings it continued in its importance. The city’s earlier
13th Century Cathedral was built on the site of a Mosque. Free time to taste the delicious local pastry. We
pass by Portimão for a quick sightseeing, to admire its impressive and typical fishing harbor, with the local
and typical fishing boats. Next is Lagos, with a very nice seaside resort, the most historically interesting
coastal town in the Algarve. Its fame derives from its association with Portugal's 14th-and 15th-century Age
of Discovery. It’s here that we’ll have free time for lunch, near the ocean, opportunity for you to try the
fresh and delicious fish of the coast coming straight from the ocean. We’ll proceed to Sagres, to visit the old
fortress of the Portuguese school of navigators "who brought new worlds to the World". It can be a powerful
sensation to sit quietly anywhere along the cliff tops here and look out to sea and ponder the extraordinary
adventurers who have passed this way. Finally we arrive to Saint Vincent cape, the south westernmost point
of Europe, “the end of the world”, as it was called before America was discovered. The cliffs rise nearly
vertically from the Atlantic to a height of 75 meters. The cape is a site of exuberant marine life and a high
concentration of birds nesting on the cliffs, such as the rare Bonelli's eagle, peregrine falcons, kites, rock
thrushes, rock pigeons, storks and herons.
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...The first people in the Algarve were traders and Estate stewards that established their colonies on the coasts, like the
Phoenicians and the Carthaginians. The Algarve was once part of the Roman province of Lusitânia, later becoming part
of the Visigoths' jurisdiction. One of the most important facts in the Algarve's history: the five centuries of Arab
occupation, visible in the regions architecture (lattice chimneys, tiles, whitewashed houses, labyrinthine streets, etc.).
Since 1249, and until the Republic proclamation, the Portuguese monarchs were entitled "King of Portugal and of the
Algarves". The Algarve became a lot more important during the Discoveries, being used as one of the main departure
ports. Nothing stops the “algarvios” – people of Algarve -, who despite all the adversities made it what it is today: a
wonderful resort by the sea!...
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